Organised communities to be roped in for Hyderabad water management and flood control

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation aims to involve organized communities to ensure flood control as well as effective water management in the city.

GHMC, in collaboration with the Indian Green Building Council, organized a stakeholder interaction and brainstorming session on ‘Water drainage and wastewater/rainwater management’ on Thursday, January 22, 2026, in the presence of GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan, Additional Commissioner Anurag Jayanti and Ashok Reddy, General Manager, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board. The session focused on promoting decentralized water management and circular use of wastewater and rainwater in organized communities.

It was emphasized that organized housing and commercial developments are no longer passive consumers of municipal services. They function as water generators, storage points and reuse nodes. When managed responsibly, such developments can act as a buffer during peak rainfall periods, and when left unmanaged, significantly increase the pressure on public infrastructure.

Representatives of builders’ associations such as Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) and resident welfare groups such as United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations, NGOs, technical institutions and domain experts attended and exchanged views. Inputs to the policy framework, challenges in STP operations, and incentives to increase policy adoption were discussed.

Addressing the meeting, Mr Karnan said infrastructure expansion alone could not keep pace with rapid urban growth in the context of increasingly unpredictable and heavy rainfall patterns. Decentralized capture and reuse of water is the first line of defense against climate risk; This requires concerted action by industry bodies, developers, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and facility managers for distributed, source-level water management.

The inputs will be translated into workable frameworks and guidelines to reduce the burden on public drains, protect lakes and nalas and strengthen the long-term urban resilience of the city, a statement from GHMC said.